Posts Tagged ‘Oregonian’


Oregonians power their homes through solar program

June 3rd, 2010 by chelsea

Rain or shine, Oregonians find incentives to go solar.

Last week the state rolled out a pilot program that guarantees home and business owners a long-term income to reimburse them for the cost, according to an article in the Oregonian. The five-year program mimics approaches to renewable energy and solar power programs in Europe. The program may even launch Oregon to the forefront of solar energy, the article said. Utility customers can claim 30 percent tax credit with the program.

“It’s a pretty neat thing to receive a premium check for energy that you produce yourself, rather than just say, ‘Oh, my bill went down by $20 a month,” said the PGE project manager in the article.

Oregon is powered by sustainability.

Photo via oregonlive.com

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Portland’s transportation system is moving in new directions

February 18th, 2010 by chelsea

Portland is paving more paths to sustainable transportation with plans for a new streetcar.

This week the city was awarded $23 million in stimulus funding for this elaborate project — making the city one of 51 national recipients, according to an article in The Oregonian. Each of the 1,400 applicants were evaluated on their economic contributions, their current transportation system and their role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the article said.

The streetcar will be strategically located along the Waterfront district on SW Moody Avenue to encourage economic activity in the area. Here, the street layout will promote different forms of transportation with three traffic lanes, two streetcar tracks and bike and pedestrian facilities.

Let’s keep moving forward.

Photo via treehugger.com

Photo via midtowncommunityworks.org



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Portland teen joins Smashing Pumpkins

September 17th, 2009 by chelsea

When work meets passion at age 19, you know you’ve got it made.

That’s what happened to Mike Byrne when his life took a 180-degree turn from working at McDonalds to playing the drums for the Smashing Pumpkins. After graduating from Beaverton high school, Byrne decided he would work a little, take a few classes at Portland Community College and keep up with his hobby: drumming in his mother’s garage, according to an article in the Oregonian.

But when Byrne saw online one April morning that Billy Corgan, singer of the Smashing Pumpkins, put out an ad for a drummer, he knew he had to apply. “Sent out the video and pretty much got dead silence for a week and a half,” Byrne said. Two calls later, Byrne is a newly admitted member to an epic 1990’s band.

Could life be any sweeter?

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